"Bacchae" and "Oedipus Rex"

Paper Summary:

Euripides's play, "Bacchae", and Sophocles's play, "Oedipus Rex", highlight several common themes that these two Greek tragedies share. Most notably, both authors contend that it is arrogant impiety for a mortal man to feel that he is in control of his destiny when it is the gods who control man's lives. This paper explores how both stories examine the conflicts that ensue between mortal man's desire to exercise free will and the pre-ordained destinies that the gods have prescribed for humans.

From the Paper:

"In developing these themes, both Greek authors present a similar understanding of the psychological makeup of young, authoritarian, Greek male leaders. Both Oedipus and Pentheus, while attempting to follow a rational, logical nature, are both born of woman, and driven by irrational, covetous feelings for recognition, (i.e. sight) and unnatural passion. Oedipus violates societal laws by sleeping with his mother, and Pentheus dresses up as a woman in order to witness the drunken orgy. In Dionysus words describing Pentheus, "Thou art mad to see that which thou shouldst not see, And covetous of that thou shouldst not covet". (p. 35) And Oedipus boldly, but falsely proclaims, "Neither am I, by nature, covetous I am not yet so blinded as to wish for honour, other than is joined with gain". (p. 22)"

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• Comparison Essay # 146023 : "Burial at Thebes" and "Oedipus Rex"
• Persuasive Essay # 127572 : "A Midsummer Night's Dream" and "Oedipus Rex"

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